PESHAWAR: In yet another attack on a high-ranking government official, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Minister for Housing and Physical Planning Amjad Khan Afridi cabinet minister escaped unhurt on Monday when Taliban militants opened fire on his vehicle in Kohat district, officials said.
The provincial minister, who belongs to Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was travelling in his bullet-proof car when militants hiding in the Bilitang area of Kohat district opened fire, police said.
“Militants fired three sniper shots from the nearby hills. One bullet hit the car’s windscreen. The minister is safe,” Mubarak Zeb, police chief in Kohat district, told AFP.
“The minister was the target. Militants were involved in this attack,” he added.
An intelligence official in Peshawar blamed the attack on the Taliban. Afridi had a police escort at the time of the attack, the official added.
The minister’s family has also come under attack thrice in the past. A year ago, suspected militants attacked Afridi’s father in the same area, killing one of his guards. Afridi’s father and uncle, however, survived the attack, sustaining minor injuries.
In two other attempts, militants fired rockets at a CNG station owned by the minister and attacked a flour mill, also owned by him. However, there were no causalities in either of the attacks.
(WITH ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY OUR CORRESPONDENT)
Published in The Express Tribune, November 1st, 2011.
COMMENTS (7)
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@MarkH: Please! Your logic does not work here. There is one and only one bad guy here. And it is not any of the local people.
@Sirat-ul-mustaqeem: Once Americans leave this region, there will be lasting peace in Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan who would be ruled by Taleban. TTP would also extend its full support to Imran Khan led govt in Islamabad with a few precondtions known to all.
This minister belongs to ANP not PPP. The police has this habit of letting off those who are real guilty by issuing statements as "attack by militants". This guy has years long rivalry going on, who knows who are the real culprits.
@Sirat-ul-mustaqeem: Or they're preparing for something productive because, like it or not, your very own military strength and ability to deter the bigger and direct attacks drops drastically without the US in the vicinity. Any intelligent military strategist will be watching and drooling as you distance yourself from the US. Suicide bombings are merely reminders that create internal conflict. They aren't so dumb as to expect to win using them alone. Chances are, the more US forces withdraw, the more the timer is counting down to a direct and true offensive on Pakistan from the militants.
i second your point of view Sirat-Ul-Mustaqeem!!!
@Sirat-ul-mustaqeem: May be you are looking at it from just one angle ... If you look closely they stopped after Army did an operation in SWA. I have been following these from a long time, as soon as SWA was cleared attacks reduced dramatically. More to do with their safe havens than any thing else. Lets not act like an ostrich its a fact those people were crossing border to attack foreign forces and when we wanted them to stop they turn their guns against us. If these people treat Afghanistan as separate country all our problems will be solved automatically. We always blame politicians for not caring for this country but do we (common people) care about our country ? do we put it dearer than any thing else or do we say musalman pehle. First we need to set our priorities right only then we can ask others to care for our country. Alas, we are more interested in Afghanistan, Palestine and Kashmir not in Pakistan thus the current turmoil.
Did anyone notice the decrease in the bomb attacks inside Pakistan cities and markets after the trainers from US are sent back and the number of US diplomat officials is decreased. Well i believe there is a direct link here and well done to Pakistan army for not giving visas for which US was pushing strongly.